1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to devices for winterizing boat engines which draw fresh water into the cooling system of the engine when the engine is in operation, and which require the draining of the engine and replacement of the cooling water in the engine in order to prepare the boat for winter.
2. Brief Description Of The Prior Art
Many recreational boats used on fresh water streams today include engines which are cooled by fresh water drawn from the body of water in which the boat is operated. The fresh water is drawn into and circulated within the cooling system of the engine. It is difficult to drain such engines when the boating season has ended and at the onset of winter so as to completely remove the water therefrom to an extent such that any freezing which occurs will not damage the engine. Moreover, even when substantially all the water is drained, the interior of the cooling system tends to become rusted due to the moisture and air which remain in the cooling system.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,874, a system is disclosed for flushing the engine cooling system with an antifreeze solution. In this system, liquid is introduced into the cooling system either of an inboard boat engine having a stern outdrive unit, or of an outboard engine, at a time when both the boat and the engine are out of the water. This is accomplished by placing the tank-shaped device of the invention completely around the lower portion of the drive unit where the water intake to the engine is located, and filling it with the antifreeze solution to be introduced into the cooling system, doing so while concurrently running the motor. The device by which the solution is charged to the engine is a contoured container which is adapted to be attached to, and fit about, the lower portion of an outdrive unit, or an outboard engine. When the container is used for winterizing the motor, it holds a sufficient amount of antifreeze so that mixing of this rather concentrated antifreeze chemical with the water in the cooling system will develop adequate protection against freezing of the mixture placed in the system as mixing occurs during powered recirculation of the coolant.